By David W. Myers
Contributing Editor
More than 30 boys from Culver City Cub Scout Pack 18 and 60 of their family members came to a free event at Culver City Elks Lodge No. 1917 on Washington Place Saturday to hold their annual “Pinewood Derby” competition.
The annual derby is one of the most popular events in all of Scouting, with more than one million Cubs in the U.S. and Canada taking part each year.
The Cubs essentially start with a rectangular block of pine that’s about seven inches long, 1 ¾ inches wide and 1 ¼ inches tall, then carve it into a model race car of their own design.
“The main purpose of the Pinewood Derby is to teach kids how to plan and prepare, and to help the Cub Scout build a stronger relationship with their parent or helper,” said Pack 18 Cubmaster Bill Conroy, who doubles as an engineering project manager when he’s not devoting countless hours of his time to the Scouts.
“They also learn to use different types of tools, like coping saws, and lessons in good sportsmanship,” Conroy added. “Some of these kids put weeks into building their car.”
Once the model is carved from the block of wood, it’s sanded down, painted and sometimes lacquered and decaled. The final step is to add small, regulation-size tires that spin on finishing nails attached to the sides of the pinewood automobile.
While some Scouts go for basic designs, others opt for more intricate plans. One race car Saturday was shaped and painted like a basketball shoe; another was a dead-ringer for a wheeled Nintendo video-game control, replete with up-and-down buttons.
Other Cubs glued drivers into their cockpits. One model was “driven” by a Mutant Ninja Turtle from the popular TV cartoon series, while another was piloted by one of the mustachioed Mario Bros. top-selling video-game.
Parents were also allowed to submit models of their own, but weren’t allowed to race against the kids. Juliet Conroy, Cubmaster Bill’s wife and mother of Scouts Nicholas and Jack Conroy, created one of the most original--an oversized replica of a Swiss Army knife, including a large corkscrew fasted to the outside of the seven-inch car.
After the models were sorted into groups and put up for public view, four- to six cars raced down at a time on a 40-foot-long aluminum track that ended with a computerized finish line to determine the order of racers. The fastest ones then went on to the finals.
Raphael Starr-Wiener, an eight-year-old Cub and student in El Marino Elementary School’s award-winning Spanish Immersion Program, took first place in the Pinewood Derby.
His car barely beat the hand-carved auto of one of his best friends, Jonah Graff, who is also eight and a student at El Marino.
Alexander Falk, one of Pack 18’s most popular members, finished third.
It was a bittersweet day for some of Pack 18’s 50-plus members: On Monday, many would be leaving their longtime Cub dens to join the older Boys Scouts of America.
Nonetheless, they all seemed to have a great time at the pizza party in the Elk Lodge’s large dining room after the races were over.
Although the Culver City Elks donate the use of their large meeting and dining rooms to the Scouts and several other nonprofit groups, they’re also available for rental at relatively low rates to private groups for wedding receptions, birthday parties and other events.
Information can be obtained by calling the Elks’ office, (310) 839-8891.
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